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America’s output of physically made goods rose for a second consecutive month in July 2017 according to Industrial Production figures produced by the Federal Reserve.  Rising 0.2 percent, this cyclically sensitive indicator decelerated from 0.4 percent in June.  Despite the monthly slowdown, its year over year tally reached 2.2 percent, the best level since January 2015.

America is months away from one of my favorite times of the year, Girl Scout cookie season.  Each year I buy Thin Mints.  When sitting down to enjoy them, I finish them quickly, often not realizing how many have disappeared until the box is nearly gone.  While I don’t own a green sash, I probably deserve a badge for the number of boxes of Thin Mints I’ve devoured in m

Retail sales were strong in July 2017 according to the Census Bureau.  Month-over-month, this important indicator jumped 0.6 percent.  Compared to a year earlier, transactions increased 4.2 percent.   Not only did the second half of the year get off to quick start, June’s tally was revised upward substantially; first reported as falling 0.2 percent, a more complete cou

Inflation remained relatively level in July 2017 according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  After being unchanged in June, this price proxy increased just 0.1 percent to start the second half of this year.  Compared to July of 2016, this index is 1.7 percent higher.  Core-CPI (which excludes food and energy) rose 0.1 percent, matching the up

Prices paid by producers and wholesalers declined in July 2017 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Falling 0.1 percent in the period, this is the first contraction since August of last year.  In addition to monthly weakness, the year-over-year statistic slowed for a second consecutive month to 1.9 percent from 2.0 percent in June. 

Proprietors of small companies are feeling better about the future for the first time in five months according to the National Federation of Independent Business.

Technology continues rippling through our economy in interesting and innovative ways.  We have all heard how easy it is to shop from home and have boxes appear on your doorstep filled with your latest purchases.  Even more technical advances are helping NASA train astronauts using virtual reality.  Those of us not proficient in physics are still able to experience the tech-revolu

Deceleration sums up the American economy in July 2017 according to the latest data from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).  Each month this organization surveys purchasing managers from various firms to get a sense of the economy’s velocity.  The good news is that output continued heading in a positive direction.   Unfortunately, there was some evidence of dec

June 2017 Trade Balance

Data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) on Income and Outlays was short on good news for June 2017. As the first half of this year came to a close, there was no change to the national income figure versus a month earlier. As one might presume, this stunted consumption’s growth in the period, rising just 0.1 percent.